Sectionalizing switch



Aug. 3 1.926.

H. P. CHANDLER SECTIONALI ZING SWITCH Filed April 2'8, ma 3 sheets-sheet 1 Aug. 3 1926. 1,594,926

H. P. CHANDLER ZI W File April 28. 192s o w ww, A

Patented lling. 3,

cire stares PATENT OFFICE.

HOMER P. CHANDLER, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'JO- THE OHIO BRASS COM- PANY, OF MAN SFIELD, OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

SEGTIONALIZING SWITCH.

My invention vrelates to a circuit controlling device and particularly that class oit device known as a sectionalizing switch tor use with trolley conductors.

lt is particularlyadapted for use in mines tor cutting' the trolley into sections it passes the sectionalizing device and also means for automatically opening' `the sectionalizine device it the current flowing therethrough should exceed a predetermined amount. i

There are a great many different applications to which my device may be placed in connection with trolley circuit-s, but the simplest use is in a main haulage way of mines. ln such use the trolley wire is cut up into a plurality of sections between the main opening and the interior end of the haulage way and a sectionalizing switch is ,ositioned between the adjacent ends of the trolley wire whereby the various sections may be rendered dead or alive depending upon whether the trolley is in use for haulage purposes or not. y

iThedevice is closed by hand and opened automatically by the current collector or by an excess of motive starts at the mine entry to run to the rear ot the mine, the operator will close the sectionalizing switch thereby ener the iirst section oit trolley which will permitthe locomotive to run to the second sectionalizingswitch and this when closed y the operator will energizeV the second section'ot trolley wire. This operation is conued :unil the locomotive has reached its ination. Upon the return trip., means is provided tripping the sectionalizlng device as thecurrent collector passes beneath and in engagement with the sectionaliaing device and opening the same so that the section of trolley wire back of the locomotive.. and controlled'by the last sectionalizing switch passed by the locomotive, will be dead. devices Vwill be successively automatically opened by the current co lector as the locomotive moves to the entry of the mine.

current. Assuming that a loco-- Should the locomotive use an excessive amount of current or some accident take place, such as the short circuiting of the trolley, one or more of the sectionalizing switches between the source of trouble and the source of power will automatically open thus preventing trouble atsome other point oi the system nearer the source ot power.

My invention resides in the new and novel construction, combination and relation oit the various parts hereinafter fully described and shown in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: Y y

Fig. l is a top view of my invention showing the device in a closed position, that is. with the end castings electrically and mechanically connected.

Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. l looking atV the device from the handle operating' side. Fig. 3 is a side view in elevation of my invention. taken. from the opposite side of i ig.

Fig. et 1s a bottom view' of my invention `in which the end members are electrically and mechanically connected as is the case when the switch is in condition to allow the passage of a current collector there-across Fig. 5 is a bottom view of my invention similar to that shown in Fig.y 4, but with the switch open7 that is, the end members are not electrically connected nor mechant cally connected. f

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6 6 .of rig. 4..

Fig. 7 is a view of the latch employed to engage with the switch vmem-ber of my invention to hold it in a clio-sed position as shown in Fig.

Fig. 8 is a schematic arrangement to show the manner in which the circuits are made up.

ln the preferred embodiment of my invention I employ an insulating member l which is usually made of wood and which material is. inexpensive, easily fab-ricated,`

strong and highly Velicient for the purpose required.

To the ends of the member tare secured terminal members 2 and 2 which are provided with a portion. 3 which acts as a guide for the current collector and a projecting member 4L grooved to receive the end of a trolley conductor 5. The groove 6 which receives the trolley conductor terminates in an enlarged opening 7 adapted to receive a,

in to receive a holding bolt the member 1 Y16 is a iange17 provided with a boss 18 to 'and 23.

Vthefswitch is closed.

tapered cap on the end of the conductor 5 which will preventthe withdrawal of the trolley 5 when once in position.` The terminal members 2 and 2 are providedv with a socket member 8 adapted to receive the end or' the member 1 and secured to the end of the member 1 by the transversely disposed bolt 9 and the vertically disposed bolt 10. Projecting from the member 8 is a supporting member 11 provided with a slot 12 thereby means of which the device may be secured to the roof or a mine.

The inner ends of the guide members 3 are spaced apart and the members 2 and 2" are insulated from each other when the switch is in an open position.- In order to electrically connect the members 2 and 2 and to provide arunway therebetween for the current collector, I provide a vertically disposed bolt having a shank 13 and an enlarged head lt. I prefer to make the parts 13 and 1a of sott iron as I employ theseparts as the core of an electromagnet. The lower end et the shank 13 projects Vbelow the member 1 and en the lower end is mounted a guide member 15 and secured thereto by the transverse pin 16. Betweenthe member 15 and and surrounding the member which. is secured the insulated handle 19. The flange forms an integral part of the member 15 and is secured thereto so that Ywhen the handle 19 is rotated the member 15 will be rotated and also the members 13 and 14, Interposed between the members 1 and ltyis a soft iron plate20 which is later explained and afilanged washer 21.

lThe guide member 15 isshaped to conform with theinner ends 3 of the members 2 and V2 `and when Vin a closed position 'forms a continuous runway between the inner ends.

et the members 2 and 2 for the current y collector.

Projecting from the upper edge ot the member 15 and at' the ends are plates 22 integral withthe member 15 which in turn is ot soft iron. Also projectingfroin one 'heavy gauge soft iron, engagement with the member 'overhanging ears 38 Y secured to the outer end is a contact member 26 adapted -toengage with the proj ecting contact member 27 on the member 2 when Since the member 211 is in electrical contact withl the member 15, it Vis quite apparent that when the handle 19 is thrown toits closed position, that the member 2 willbe electrically connected with the member 15.

At the opposite end of the member 15 is Y securedv a spring contact member 28 which -15, coil 33, exterior lead 34, 28, 31,

flow through the coil .core 13, the amount or energization depend- These plates are preferably formed is secured to the member 15 by means of the screws 29. In this case, however, the menibei- 28 is'iiisulated trom the vmember 15 by means ot the insulating bushings and washers'30 interposed between the member 28, the Y screws 29 and the member 15. Secured to the outer end of the spring contact men'iber 28 is a contact menrbcr 31 adapted to engage with the contact member 32 on the member 2. It' now the operating handle 19 is thrown to its closed position, the member 28 will be in electrical connection with the member 32, butthe member 2 willjnot be in electrical connection with t ie. member 15 for the reason that the member 28 is insulated from the member 15.

llttounted in a recess in the upper edge of the insulating member 1 and surrounding the member 13 as a core is an insulated coil 33 shown vas composed of a plurality of layers or -flat ribbon insulated from each other' and having Vinsulates the member 28 from the member 15. The inner end ofthe coil 33 is secured to a bushing 35, preferably by soldering, andthis bushing is a tight tit on the kcore 13.

Referring to Fig. 8, 'it will be apparent that it the switch handle 19 is thrown to its closed position that there will be an electric circuit 'from trolley wire5 to Atrolley7 wire 5 through the members 2, 27, 26, 2Ll,

sa, a It will'also be apparent that it cui-- taken from the trolley 5 from the an d 5. rent is yside of the device away from the source oro power that the current will necessarily 33 and energize the ing upon the amount of current lowing through the coil'33. In order to hold the switch in an open position and to tend at 'Y all times to open I attach a spring` 36 to the switch member Yand to the lugs 37 shown as secured Ainsulating member 1.

the switch when it is closed,

tothe rthe member20, preferably formed up ot is mounted in close 13 and as the which are positioned members on the side ears 38, together with the lugs 22 'and n3, 'form the poles of the core 13 and tend to act as a magnetic blowout and extinguish the arc when the switch adjacent the Contact of the device and the moves to an open position with current flowing through the device.

Mounted on top of the member 1 is a clevis standard 39 to which is pivoted by means of the pin 10 a latch 11 which is bent downward and has at the end a detent Ll2. Mouir ted on the ,side of Vthe member 15 is the clevis lug t3 which has a roller. 14 mounted therein and adapted to engage with the dc-k tent e2. The latch 4:1 projects downwardly to engage with the roller la on the bracket d3. rlhe end of the latch il is pointed and when the handle 19 is moved to its closed position the roller e4: will engage with the upper surface of the pointed end of the latch and move the latch downwardly until. the detent and roller coincide when the latch 4.1 will be moved upwardly through the action ot the switch in its closed position. rllhe switch is now in condition for conducting current trom one trolley section to the adjacent section through the device and also for conducting a current collector vfrom one section to another across. the device. Mounted on the upper tace of the member l is a bracket lo and pivotally secured to the bracket l5 is a lcrer l? which is so bent thatv one portion 4.8 is positioned above the latch al and and another portion 49 proj ects downwa-rc ly along` the side ot the d evice and adjacent the guide 3 such that when a trolley collector is mowing across the device in the direction of. the arrow it will engage with the portion 41.9 of the lever 47 and move the same in the direction in which the collector is moving, and this in turn will cause the portion el?? to pivot downwardly and into engagement with the latch ll thereby moving the lower end of the latch 4l and the detent 42 downwardly and disengaging the latch from the bracket i3 thereby permitting: the switch to open under the influence oit the spring 36.

In order to cause the switch to. open under an excess flow of current I nro-unt upon the upper tace of the member 1 a. bracket 50. Into this bracket is pivotally mounted an armature o1 by means ot the pin 52. The armature 5,1 is positioned above the core 13.--14 and when the current flowing through the coil 33 is excess ofy a pre.- determined amount it will attract the. armature 5.1 and the portion 53 which is positioned above the latch il will be brought into,v engagement with the latch .1 causing the saine to` move. out of cooperative relation with the bracket t on the switch thereby releasing .the switch in such a, manner that the spring 36V will cause the switch to open.` 'in order to adjust the amount of current which may low through the coil 33.. witlmnt. automatically operatingv the switch. I interpose between the end 545 of the armature 5l and the member l a. spring 5,5 secured to the member 54 by means; of an. adjusting screw 56. and by means of this spring and adjusting screw the amount of current required to cause the armature to be tripped may be varied.

s I have; described the. operation of the the spring d5 thereby holding` vrent collector from member to .arranged to move out of alinement with the device as I proceeded with the description of the same, I will noty repeat the operation again in full, but it will be apparent that the device may be opened automatically by and through the movement orf-the current collector in one direction andalso through an excess of current llowing .through the operating coil and it is also apparentl that the, switch may be closed manually through thermedium of the handle. 19 and opened manually by manipulating` the member l-t or 5l or .il which may be done by an operator moving these parts by means of an insulated tool or by means or a stick of wood.

I have comb-ined in one device "a sec-A tionalizing switch, an insulatorv and an automatic circuit breaker, which to the best otl my knowledge has never been done in the tions to the construction which Iliave herein described, which may be made and which will `occur to those skilled in the art, but which will embody my linvention and, therefore, I do not than by my claims.

I claim: l. An article of manufacture` comprising in combination, an insulating member, meinbers attached to each end to secure theadjacent ends of a trolley conductor thereto, means positioned between the adjacent ends of said members to guide a current collector from member'l to. member and arranged to move out of alinement with the said members, means to hold the guidemeans `in alinement, means tending to move said Iguide means out of alinement and electrically operated means to influence the holding means to release the guide means when an excess current is flowing in said trolley conductor.

2. An article of manufacture comprising in combi-nation, an insulated member, members attached to each end to secure the adjacent ends of a trolley conductor thereto-, means positioned between the adjacent end ot themembers to guide a curmember and members, means to hold the guide means in alinement, means tend-ing to move the guide means out of alinement, electrically operated means to influence the holding means to release the guide means when an excess current is 'flowing in said trolley conductor and V means operated by the movement ot the current collector to also move said holding means to its release position when the collectofrmovesacross. the guide member. Y

3,. In an article of manufacture, the ccmbination ot an insulated member, members attached to each end to securethe adjacent ends oft trolley conductors thereto, means positioned betweenthe adj acont ends. ot the .members and mounted ion the insulating past and there will be many modificau wish to be limited, otherv Vmember 'to rotate labout a vertical axisto guide a current collector from Vmember to member and arranged to move out of alinement with the members, means to hold the guide means in alinement, means tending to move the'guide means out of alincmcnt and means operated by the movement of the current collector across the device to operate the holding means and move it to its release position and permit the guide means to move out of alinement.

4. The combination oi' a pair of end mem-V bers held in a spaced relation by an insulatmg member, means on the end members to connect a conductor to each member, means yto electrically connect the end members, means tending to open the connecting means,

means holding the connecting member closed and electrically operated means to trip the holding means When the current iiowing exceeds a predetermined amount. y

5. In al section insulator, an insulating member, end members held in fixed. spaced and insulated relation by the insulating member and adapted to receive the' ends of adjacent conductor sections, movably mounted means to electrically connect the tro-magnet to open the connectiingv means when the current loiving from one section to the other section is greater than a predetermined amount. j

7. In a section insulator, the combination oia pair of end members held in a fixed and spaced position, means to secure conductors to the end members, movable means to bridge the gap to guide a current collector rom end to end and to electrically connect the endmembers, manually operated means to movey the movable member to its closed position, means to hold the movable means closed, means to move the movable means toits open position, means operated by the movement of the current collector to automatically release the movable `means and means operated by an excess current to automatically release the movable means.

8, A sectionalizingswitch comprising in combination, a pair of conductor supporting members held in spacedrelation by an insulating member, movable means to `close the gap between the supporting members, means to hold thel'movable means closed, means to move the movable means to its open position and automatic operating means to release the holding 'means, the automatic v means provided with an operating coil having its ends connected, one to each supporting-member, i s j 9,.-ri. sectionalizing switch comprising a pair ciend members mounted on an insulating member in spaced, fixed and insulated relation andhaving means to secure thereto the ends or conductors, a rotatable member to close the gap bet-Ween the end members,

`,means on one member to engage means on Vtliemovable member to electrically connect the said members when the gap is closed, means on the movable member but insulated 'tnereiroin to engage means on the other end mcmben an energizing coiiconnected to the rotatable member and the insulated means thereon such that the end members are electrically connected when the movable mem` bei closes the gap, means urging the opening ofthe rotatable member, means to lock the rotatable member in closed position and means operated by the coil when over-energized to move said lock to its released position.

it). A sectionalizingswitch comprising a pair of end members, an insulating member to whi n the end members are'secured iii spaced and Vinsulated. relation, a movable 4men'iber to fill the gap 4between the end members and to move into and out-of alinement with the `end members, means to electrically connect the movable members to one end member when alined'and an electro-magnet having itscoil connected to ythe movable member and the other end member when the members are alined.A i

il. sectionalizing svvitch comprising an insulating member, a pair of spaced end membersV having means to secuieconductors thereto, a movable 'memberadapted to vopen 'and to close the gap between the end membxrs andmeans toopen the gap by operating the movable member When an excess current is flowing inV one or both or the conductors.

"12. *A sectionalizing switch comprising an insulating member, a lpair or" spaced endr members having means to secure conductors thereto, a transversely disposed pin supported 'by the insulating member, 'a

movable member supported by the pin, an energizing coilv receiving current from Vthe conductors mounted on the pin and means controlled by the magnet coil kto move the lmovable member out of alinement with the end men'ibers when an excess current is flowing through the coil.

13. A. sectionalizing switch comprising an insulating member and a pair oi end members secured to the insulating member in spaced' relation, means toi secure conductors to the end members, a movable member to be moved into and out of alinement with ber,

the end members and means to automatically move the movable member out ott alinement when an excess current flows through said conductors.

lll. ylhe combination with a section insulator comprising an insulating member and spaced end members mounted thereon and means to secure conductors thereto., oft means manually operated to electrically connect the end members at will and aut-o-v matically operated to disconnect the end members under predetermined conditions.

l5. A sectionalizing switch comprising an insulating member, a pair of spaced end members mounted on the insulating memmeans to secure conductors to the end members, a movable member to electrically connect and disconnect the end members', means to disconnect the end members by operating the movable member when an eX- cess oit current is flowing in one er both of the conductors, parts formed of magnetic material positioned adjacent the make and brealr points between the end and movable members, a coil associated with the magnetic parts and receiving current from the conductors and energizing the magnetic parts to form a magnetic field acting to extinguish the arc when the movable member opens the gap between the end members with current flowing.

16. An article of manufacture comprising an insulating member, end members mounted on the insulating member in spaced relation and having means to secure con` ductors thereto, a movable member to open and close the gap between the end members, means to move the movable member to its open position, means to hold the movable member in its closed position, electrically operated means to act on said holding means to release the same when an excess of current is flowing through the conductors, means operated by the movement of a current collector to act upon the holding means to move it to its release position, means to move the movable member to its closed position and means controlled by the electrically operated means to set up a magnetic field to extinguish any arc-formed between the end and movable members.

17. A sectional insulator comprising` a pair or' conductor holding' members, spaced apart and mounted in an insulating member, a the gap between the holding members, means to hold the movable member in closed position, means urging the opening of the movable member and pivotally mounted means to be engaged by a moving current collector' to move the pivotal means into engagement with the holding means to release the same from the movable member when in the closed position.

1S. A- sectional insulator comprising a pairct' spaced conductor holding members mounted on an insulating member1 a movable member arranged to be manually moved into alinement with the holding members to guide a current collector across the gap between the holding` members, means urging the opening of the movable member and meansv to holdthe movable member in a closed position and tobe released by an excess flowing to the current collector in moving across the device from one holding member to the other.

19. An article ot manufacture compris# ing an insulating member, holding members attached thereto in spaced relation and having means to secure the ends of conductors thereto in insulated relation and a circuit breaker mounted on the insulating member and arranged to connect thel conductors and electrically operated to automatically disconnect the conductors under predetermined conditions.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

noi/mn P. CHANDLER.

movable member to open and close 

